In the land of pain Texts by Afghan women authors in exile

Since taking power in Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, the Taliban have triggered the worst women's rights crisis in the world (Human Rights Watch). Aid funds have been severely cut, thousands of Afghan women have been deported from Pakistan back to Afghanistan and thousands more are waiting in the hope of being able to leave for Western countries. Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls are only allowed to go to school up to the sixth grade. Women have been deprived of their right to freedom of movement, they are excluded from many professions and their access to medical care has been made much more difficult. We can no longer get the terrible images of persecuted and displaced people desperately trying to reach safety out of our heads.

In the second part of our series VOICES OF OPPOSITION, we look at texts by Afghan women writers in exile from the anthology "Paths through dark times". They convey an impressive picture of the situation on the ground and also show us that faith in political progress remains unbroken even today.

Reading: Paula Dieckmann, Christiane Schoon and Joris Löschburg